Scott Fulhage punted for Kansas State from 1981-’84.
He punted 254 times for 10,284 yards.
Signed as a free agent by the Bills (1985) and the Redskins the following season (’86) , but did not make the opening day roster.
Signed by the Bengals in ’87, then the Packers, and then back to the Bengals that year.
He averaged 41.7 yards per punt (2,168 yards) on 52 attempts.
Joined the Falcons in 1989, where he pinned opponents 24 times inside their own 20- leading the NFC (on 84 punts).
After bouncing around between 5 teams from ’85-’89, Fulhage found consistency with the Falcons, whom he punted for through the 1992 season.
In 1991, punted 81 times for 3,470 yards and dropped 21 inside the 20.
He’d see career highs in net yards (2,963), Average (42.8), and net average (36.6) that season.
After a shaky start with 3 blocked punts in under three seasons, Scott punted successfully 192 times until the 1992 season.
At the time of his retirement, Scott was ranked second all time on the Falcons all-time list with a 41.8 yard average per punt.
NOTES:
I knew I’d be in for a wait for Scott. Consistent, yet slow, I wasn’t worried about these getting back to me. He was of special interest to me as he appears in 1991’s Tecmo Super Bowl on the NES with the Falcons. Scott also appears on two set needs so it was a no brainer to get these cards out the door to him.
Funny note, on many of his cards, it’s noted that Scott farms and harvests wheat when it’s not the football season. Makes sense since he’s from Beloit, KS.
Kyle Clifton played college ball at TCU from 1980-’83.
Upon arriving at TCU Clifton was a quarterback, but by his Sophomore season had fully converted to the rigors of linebacker- playing both inside and outside ‘backer.
Broke the school’s single season tackle record in ’83, posting 189 total stops.
Selected in the 3rd round of the ’84 draft by the New York Jets.
After Bob Crable went down with an injury in the middle of the defense, Kyle stepped in.
Finished with 113 tackles in his rookie campaign.
He’d lead the squad in 1985 with 160 while chipping in 3 picks.
In 1988, Kyle had a banner campaign with 162 total tackles, and 4 forced fumbles.
He quickly broke the 1k tackle barrier in 1990, posting a career high 199 tackles that year.
Kyle continued to be a force in the middle, leading the team in tackles over 5 straight seasons.
In 1994, Kyle blew out his knee, ending his streak at 6 seasons with 130+ tackles.
And that was that- as in 1995 he came in off the bench and seldom saw playtime, retiring after the ’96 campaign and 204 contests.
At the time of his retirement, he was the Jets’ career leading tackler with 1,484 stops, and second all-time in league history (since surpassed).
NOTES:
Over Kyle’s quiet career in New York, you’d think that he’d have garnered more attention based on his incredible run stopping prowess, leading the league in 1985, ’86 and ’88. He also ranked in the top 10 in solo tackles seven times. Kyle is a great example of a run stopping tackle monster not getting their due. Despite his resume, the Jets have yet to induct Clifton into their Ring of Honor, as of the time of this post.
Kyle had a lot of cards that fit my set needs so I was lucky enough that he’d sign 4 for me.
Some of these guys are getting impossible to get, so I’ve had to rely more and more on my ability to identify authentic and fake autographs through eBay. -I absolutely hate it.
I had forgotten that I had acquired Lee from a private acquisition sometime way, way back in 2014. I disliked the Upper Deck 1993 so much that I delayed posting it and had forgotten I’d already written up a snapshot of Lee in 2016.
Chipping away the Fleer 90 and Pro Set 89 were two I were after. Strangely I don’t remember seeing these two cards in the wild. It’d be years later I’d get a Fleer 90 box for like 10 bucks. Smelled like cigars, but hey, I knew what his card looked like. Still have the Action Packed, Gameday 92, and I think a Score Supplemental floating around out there to get autographed though.
Celebrating the game, the players, the cards, and the autographs for over 25 years.
